General Adulthood, Planning for the Future: Business, College, Budgeting, Investments, etc! $$$ - General

I could use some advice right now, brace yourselves as this is quite a rant. I work as a valet while in school, and tonight I had to go jump a customer's car with my car. Long story short is that I did not drive my 25 year old Mercedes 190E home tonight, because the positive battery terminal failed (the lead bit with the wires that attaches to the battery - the corroded starter wire basically is falling out of it and not making sufficient contact for the starter to engage). I am a serial ancient German car owner, with my first and previous car being junked at the tender age of 32 years. I love my Mercedes to death, would never sell it (despite having 217k miles), but it's a better hobby than a daily driver. I've replaced everything from ball joints to trim pieces on this car, my previous car, and friends cars and consider myself an avid DIYer. However I am tired of the random micky mouse nonsense problems that come with daily driving a car that is so damn old. I make $1000 a month when not on my paid internship (have one more of those, this summer), $2400 minimum during my 6 month co-op (I'm an engineering student at Drexel University with a halfway decent GPA). I've wanted a VW Passat NMS (the latest generation for us Americans) for years now, and firmly believe that it would be a great and economical car that I would enjoy daily driving. I noticed that Hertz Car Sales has a few base models of this car for around $10k with less than 50k miles. Do I pull the trigger on financing one of these cars given that insurance will be $200 per month, and I pay $200 a month to rent out my uncles basement (includes food to an extent), with those two bills being my only bills? I have a ~720 credit score, and have had my oldest credit card for 3 years with a perfect on time payment history (however I'm carrying a high balance because I had to hep my mom out with some bills). Not interested in anything over 3 years old due to oxidation of rubber, age of fluids, corrosion (I'm from CT and go to school in PA), and other age related issues. Also not interested in owning Asian cars because I simply do not like the way they drive and feel they are not any less expensive to own after spending lots of time wrenching on friend's Mazdas and Subarus. In the end I want to keep the 190, because I do autocross it, which I enjoy. But it's not always a joy to daily drive it because sometimes it gets a little weird, or it just plain breaks like it did today. I've owned 2 cars at the same time before, that aspect doesn't phase me. [B]TLDR: I'm fucking pissed that I had to take the train AND pay for a $33 uber ride to get home after work tonight because my car didn't want to leave the 6th floor of a parking garage in Philadelphia and now have to go back tomorrow with tools to fix the car because it broke purely because it's been here since the damn dinosaurs.[/B]

A bit of a sob story, but here goes- I didn't do so well my first year of undergrad (last year), and thus had a pretty big hole academically to dig myself out of this semester at my college. I busted my ass off to do better, and I ultimately did, but regardless since I didn't jump my GPA up far, far more than I did, my college is trying to dismiss me. I'm honestly just destroyed at this point. Tons of money in tuition, hours worked, and time spent learning and networking at my school might just be toast for a full year (since dismissal lasts for 2 consecutive terms), all because it turns out the academic services office sets nigh-unattainable standards for 'having made significant academic progress'. I can try and appeal, but even that has caveats I have to meet if that succeeds (which there's no guarantee it will). I just don't know what to do at the moment, and honestly have gone from being happy to be home with family for the end of the year to being just... emotionally wrecked.

I'd say try to appeal. It can't hurt. Alternatively, search for other schools in the area who might accept you as a transfer student with your GPA, even if it means taking extra things like extra classes or tutoring.

[QUOTE=ScriptKitt3h;52987098]A bit of a sob story, but here goes- I didn't do so well my first year of undergrad (last year), and thus had a pretty big hole academically to dig myself out of this semester at my college. I busted my ass off to do better, and I ultimately did, but regardless since I didn't jump my GPA up far, far more than I did, my college is trying to dismiss me. I'm honestly just destroyed at this point. Tons of money in tuition, hours worked, and time spent learning and networking at my school might just be toast for a full year (since dismissal lasts for 2 consecutive terms), all because it turns out the academic services office sets nigh-unattainable standards for 'having made significant academic progress'. I can try and appeal, but even that has caveats I have to meet if that succeeds (which there's no guarantee it will). I just don't know what to do at the moment, and honestly have gone from being happy to be home with family for the end of the year to being just... emotionally wrecked.[/QUOTE] a lot of it has to do with federal regulations if you've got any sort of federal financial aid being applied [editline]19th December 2017[/editline] also for what it's worth, "i didn't try hard enough" is usually never an acceptable reason for academic probation appeal you have the ability to drop classes or take less classes or try harder

Got my first interview next week since I’ve graduated, and it’s with a pretty major company working as a Python front-end web scraping developer. Really wish I could put into words how stoked I am, because I’ve been pretty nervous about a lot of programming entry level jobs requiring “1-2 years of experience” on top of a degree. Especially because I also only minored in CS rather than majoring in it

Does anyone use, or have input/insight on the Amazon Prime credit card offering? I was considering applying, but wanted to see if anyone had any experience. It would be my first credit card as well.

[QUOTE=Revenge282;53008258]Does anyone use, or have input/insight on the Amazon Prime credit card offering? I was considering applying, but wanted to see if anyone had any experience. It would be my first credit card as well.[/QUOTE] good if you use amazon often, 5% back on amazon.com 2% on restaurants i think. no annual fee is nice. makes a good combo with a rotating 5% card like discover or chase freedom

I finally scraped together enough money to get enrolled in a Vision and Dental plan with Humana. Costs me about $70 to enroll and it'll be about $30 a month from here on out. Super stoked. Means I can finally go get my eyes checked and hopefully save up some money to get some new glasses. Mine are scratched to hell already.

[QUOTE=Jaehead;53009323]good if you use amazon often, 5% back on amazon.com 2% on restaurants i think. no annual fee is nice. makes a good combo with a rotating 5% card like discover or chase freedom[/QUOTE] What's a "rotating 5%" card?

i applied for my first credit card (a united airlines card to get extra miles for a few flights i could pay in full) and i was surprised to see that i was instantly approved and that my credit limit was $5000. i feel like it should've been way lower than that, considering the only credit i've used are my student loans and my govt. travel card, which i doubt even counts. fortunately i understand that this isn't free money, and i should be careful with it. my dad drilled safe spending habits into me and is trying to convince me to live a credit-free life (which i ain't about, tbh) [editline]28th December 2017[/editline] i plan on traveling a lot once i graduate and start working so i'm probably gonna pick up a delta card and hopefully a chase sapphire reserve card. i have a friend who wants to refer me for those cards to get extra points

[QUOTE=Revenge282;53011901]What's a "rotating 5%" card?[/QUOTE] card that offers 5% cash back on rotating categories. like restaurants, grocery stores, amazon etc. this is the discover 2018 calendar [t]https://i.imgur.com/9hEZaNu.png[/t]

[QUOTE=elitehakor;53012406]i applied for my first credit card (a united airlines card to get extra miles for a few flights i could pay in full) and i was surprised to see that i was instantly approved and that my credit limit was $5000. i feel like it should've been way lower than that, considering the only credit i've used are my student loans and my govt. travel card, which i doubt even counts. fortunately i understand that this isn't free money, and i should be careful with it. my dad drilled safe spending habits into me and is trying to convince me to live a credit-free life (which i ain't about, tbh) [editline]28th December 2017[/editline] i plan on traveling a lot once i graduate and start working so i'm probably gonna pick up a delta card and hopefully a chase sapphire reserve card. i have a friend who wants to refer me for those cards to get extra points[/QUOTE] I wouldn't say live a credit free life, per se, just understand it and always remember that [B][I]it's not your money.[/I][/B] Having a good credit score is important because it helps you greatly for many long-term purchases you plan to make - whether it be financing a home of your own, or even something a little more short term, like a car. One good way to build up a decent score is keeping a low credit utilization. A rule of thumb is about 30% of your actual limit, but the jury's still out on that. People with the best credit scores often have even lower credit utilization. So if you see it's nearing the 30% mark, just pay it off ASAP for a while, you'll be good. I'd say be careful about taking credit cards outside of the ones you don't need - some (actually all) banks do a credit check before deciding to issue a card, so a sign of someone aggressively building up credit lines with no discernable source of income that matches that credit line actually works [I]against[/I] you. The age of your cards also factors into your credit score, so keep that in mind as well. Don't take on credit you don't think you'll need for the goodies. That's what churners do and it's just best not to jump down that churning hole if you're starting out.

This is probably going to seem obvious to most of you, but having been coming out the ass end of a [I]long[/I] depressive funk (thank you, modern medicine), I am basically relearning how to be a functional adult. I've made some basic changes to my daily routines that have a major impact on my mood, motivation, and productivity that I wanted to share: 1) I set an actual bed time, and I wake up early. At nine pm, I take my medicine and my sleep aid. At ten, it's lights out. I wake up five am. It was such a small, but important change, as establishing a basic daily routine providing normalcy that was seriously lacking. It took some time getting used to a 5:00 am wake up, but with my wake up and bed time scheduled, the day feels longer, and I'm able to get more done. 2) I exercise. With my 5:00 wakeup, I have plenty of time to enjoy a mug of coffee, a light breakfast, and thirty minutes on the exercise bike. It's hardly rigorous, but by the end of it I am fully awake, alert, and feeling motivated for having done something productive. After a quick shower, I'm ready to face the day. 3) I have started a Gratitude Journal. It's a small and simple thing. As I settle down for work, I go into my notebook and write five things that I'm grateful for. I remind myself of what's good in my life, to make sure I start my work day off on a positive note. Good for the mood, which means I work better and harder. 4) I have a daily affirmation -- a sort of self-motivation mantra I repeat aloud at least three times before setting down to work. It felt a bit awkward at first, but in reminding myself what my goal is, what I will do to accomplish it, and why I need to do it, I build on the motivation and determination from the morning. It focuses me on what needs to be done, and dispels the temptation to procrastinate (which I am terrible about). I know this isn't exactly space age science, but it's made such a positive impact on my productivity and my mood. With my business living or dying based on my personal productivity, it was critical for me to learn how to take control of my mornings. Just thought I'd share!

I guess this is the right place to ask this kind of question. How can I get money out of my roommate who never pays rent/bills? The whole time I've lived with this guy, he has always been short on paying these. I've obviously tried to see if I can get him kicked out, but since both of our names are on the apartment lease, I'm not legally allowed to do that. I can't JUST pay my half of the rent, or they'll just slam both of us with late fees and additional penalties, plus it would probably screw up my good credit. They just want the money, and they don't care whether it's coming from one of us or both of us. The only possible eventual outcome is that we BOTH end up kicked out on the street. The only thing I've figured out I can legally do is change the wifi password and otherwise block him from using the internet. This SHOULD be a pretty big motivator since he spends pretty much all his time on the computer/internet, but so far it's not doing much. There's a whole long-ass list of stuff he needs to pay for, including a pet fee for the two cats he's been secretly keeping in his room, and I've figured out that by the end of our lease (next month) he's going to owe me [b]$3,000 in total.[/b] Pretty much all of this is just piled-up rent and bills he has never fully paid up on. Does anybody know anything I can do to get this money out of him? I have a whole itemized list of everything he has ever owed me money for, and every occurrence of money he's given me, down to the penny, dated, going back to March of last year, if that will do me any favors.

My family situation is going from bad to worst, aside from some promising job offers I might get, my dad's job which he got retrenched, went from earning $4k a mth, to $1.6k a month, from a photojournalist to a security guard. Its almost disgusting, seeing as how he's been loyal to the company his entire life. With my brother's school fees going at around 60K quid a year, not including basic living expenses, its going to be tough, and I'm expected to be the breadwinner. I plan to take up 3 jobs, 1 day job, 1 midnight job, and 1 freelance, I'll be happy if I even get 5 hours of sleep.

[QUOTE=Dave_Parker;53046058]You're probably SOL. Unless you can appeal to his morality or apply some other kind of pressure (parents?) it's unlikely he'll suddenly decide to start paying up. I can't recall where you're from (UK?) but I'd recommend finding one of those places that offer free legal advice, just to see if that's an option.[/QUOTE] I'm in the US, but another layer of the problem here is that we live in Tennessee, but his whole family is in California, and he says he's planning to move back there after leaving here.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;53021084]This is probably going to seem obvious to most of you, but having been coming out the ass end of a [I]long[/I] depressive funk...[/QUOTE] As someone who wib-wobbles out of some kind of bad funks myself (thanks dehumanizing job-hunts), I'll back [B]exercise [/B]as one of the most important things that keeps me from just laying in bed all day. It's the first thing I do in the morning, even if I've slept in a bit or really don't feel like it. Serves as a great wake-up and motivator. And health-wise, it's important to do just kinda [I]something[/I] if you're like me and your day/jobs typically involve being at a desk all day. It can seriously be anything, too - even if you just kinda jog in place, do some jumping jacks and flounder around a bit.

[QUOTE=Dave_Parker;53047017]Small claims court would be your best bet, but even if the judge rules in your favour there's a chance you're not getting back your $. (And the fact that you typed $3,000 should've probably been a giveaway)[/QUOTE] The man's got a good point.

I'm reaching the end of my college career and I'm getting kinda nervous. When I started, I really wibble-wobbled on what I wanted to do and, haphazardly, picked an interdisciplinary major in leadership. I wasn't sure what I was going to do and felt like it was a nice, rounded choice. Fast forward to my last semester, and I don't feel like I have any practical experience for anything! I'm about to be on my own, and I have no clue on what I should be doing. I feel so behind my peers, who've pursued applicable majors like business and computer science. I want to love what I do, but don't know which direction to head in. Plus, who the hell is going to want to hire a 22-year old fresh out of college with a major in leadership?? That being said, I got a lot of good things going for me, too. I don't have any student debt or any crazy overhead, and I've got a solid head on my shoulders. It's just that I'm not sure what to aspire to after I get out. Any sage advice?

[QUOTE=pod;53066092]I'm reaching the end of my college career and I'm getting kinda nervous. When I started, I really wibble-wobbled on what I wanted to do and, haphazardly, picked an interdisciplinary major in leadership. I wasn't sure what I was going to do and felt like it was a nice, rounded choice. Fast forward to my last semester, and I don't feel like I have any practical experience for anything! I'm about to be on my own, and I have no clue on what I should be doing. I feel so behind my peers, who've pursued applicable majors like business and computer science. I want to love what I do, but don't know which direction to head in. Plus, who the hell is going to want to hire a 22-year old fresh out of college with a major in leadership?? That being said, I got a lot of good things going for me, too. I don't have any student debt or any crazy overhead, and I've got a solid head on my shoulders. It's just that I'm not sure what to aspire to after I get out. Any sage advice?[/QUOTE] I'm not too sure about the details to your education, but what applying to be an assistant to someone in a leadership role? You may be able to get someone who's more experienced to delegate tasks to you and maybe he'll/she'll mentor you. Or there's volunteering to organize/orchestrate events such as fundraising to get some experience. That's all I can come up with in my half-awake daze from waking up. :tired:

So a newfound lack of discipline since I got together with my GF made me fail an exam for a huge course in my program, leaving me without welfare. But it gets worse. For the upcoming 3 months I will have to work 40 hours a week without pay as part of our university's practical program which means I won't be able to find work that pays. The next attempt at the tests and the next opportunity to raise my points and get welfare is in 4 months and by then I will be eating out of dumpsters if I don't think of something. Thankfully I saved up what little work and welfare money I had before in a shit hits the fan account, so I'm surviving but have been living a spartan-like life for the last month. I'm using my skills in medicine and health care to survive on the equivalent of 100 dollars a month apart from my 500 dollar rent. I've been thinking though. I could call my parents and get bailed out of this situation. It would kill my ego but for goodness sake I'm drinking potato water for vitamin C as I'm writing this. Do you think it's justified? [editline]20th January 2018[/editline] Also, I'll make it clear right now that I don't want and won't accept money from any of you.

If you can swallow your pride for a bit and make a pact with yourself that you do better and be more responsible next time, then I’d reach out to your parents. Sometimes we need help and if that resource is there, I say use it, so long as they won’t give you too much grief over it.

Is it really a big deal for employers if you graduate from college by like 22 or 23? I'm currently half way through college and I'm gonna turn 20 years old in June of this year and I constantly have to cut down my school load because I work and study, which slows down my progress. I believe that if I don't fail any subject this semester plus go to summer classes, I could end up finishing school by winter of the next year. Where I study at it's often seen as a negative thing to grow older while you're in college, so there is the pressure that if you don't finish as soon as possible you're gonna turn into a "fossil".

I’d doubt they’d care, just as long as you have the skills a year or two extra won’t make a difference One of my friends got his degree in December and he turned 30 last week, and now he’s working for a successful tech startup

[QUOTE=Sgt. Nikolai;53070099]Is it really a big deal for employers if you graduate from college by like 22 or 23? I'm currently half way through college and I'm gonna turn 20 years old in June of this year and I constantly have to cut down my school load because I work and study, which slows down my progress. I believe that if I don't fail any subject this semester plus go to summer classes, I could end up finishing school by winter of the next year. Where I study at it's often seen as a negative thing to grow older while you're in college, so there is the pressure that if you don't finish as soon as possible you're gonna turn into a "fossil".[/QUOTE] What country? In the US it's very common for people to take 5-6 years to finish a bachelors, so it's not a problem here at least (some high-tier schools prefer younger applicants tho.) It might be different elsewhere.

dont know how to put this into words but need to decide what to do with myself, it really sucks kinda know what i want to do and how to move forward but choosing to abandon everything isnt easy, waiting on some volunteer work with a local college to come through so i can get some experience i dont think it helps i have what i think is a pretty easy life, i have made bad decisions in the past where if i only think short term its easier to do nothing its easy to think you know the way forward but reality isnt always the same as you expect

i told my manager last week that i was looking to move into a different job. i'm turning 25 later this year, i graduated an IT degree at uni last year and i'm only earning $24,000 a year in this job ($460 a week, $250 goes to rent, $40-50 for fuel and the rest on groceries and bills) so i can't save money because i don't make enough money. i had a meeting with my boss today to discuss this. uncomfortable as you'd expect, but hes understanding. he still wants me to do some software projects in house and will provide additional hours and pay (albeit at my usual pay rate of $20/h) which i am happy to do, i'm just glad it went well. will have to talk to my manager tomorrow and i don't think hes going to give up so easy, but i'm set on moving on at this point. it's essentially a dead end job, i'm on part time with no extra hours being offered and i'm on $20.60 an hour (in australia so its less than it seems). all i gotta do now is start looking for new jobs. [editline]24th January 2018[/editline] [QUOTE=maeZtro;53067918]So a newfound lack of discipline since I got together with my GF made me fail an exam for a huge course in my program, leaving me without welfare. But it gets worse. For the upcoming 3 months I will have to work 40 hours a week without pay as part of our university's practical program which means I won't be able to find work that pays. The next attempt at the tests and the next opportunity to raise my points and get welfare is in 4 months and by then I will be eating out of dumpsters if I don't think of something.[/QUOTE] i don't know how the welfare works where you live but in australia you get a student allowance based on the number of units you are doing (minimum of 30 units per week, average course is 10 units). the allowance isn't based on the workload but you need at least 30 units to qualify. however i would at least call in and see if you can still get welfare considering you are doing 40 hours of essentially volunteer work. that should qualify you for some sort of student or job seeker allowance.

[QUOTE=Loofiloo;53045746]I guess this is the right place to ask this kind of question. How can I get money out of my roommate who never pays rent/bills? The whole time I've lived with this guy, he has always been short on paying these. I've obviously tried to see if I can get him kicked out, but since both of our names are on the apartment lease, I'm not legally allowed to do that. I can't JUST pay my half of the rent, or they'll just slam both of us with late fees and additional penalties, plus it would probably screw up my good credit. They just want the money, and they don't care whether it's coming from one of us or both of us. The only possible eventual outcome is that we BOTH end up kicked out on the street. The only thing I've figured out I can legally do is change the wifi password and otherwise block him from using the internet. This SHOULD be a pretty big motivator since he spends pretty much all his time on the computer/internet, but so far it's not doing much. There's a whole long-ass list of stuff he needs to pay for, including a pet fee for the two cats he's been secretly keeping in his room, and I've figured out that by the end of our lease (next month) he's going to owe me [b]$3,000 in total.[/b] Pretty much all of this is just piled-up rent and bills he has never fully paid up on. Does anybody know anything I can do to get this money out of him? I have a whole itemized list of everything he has ever owed me money for, and every occurrence of money he's given me, down to the penny, dated, going back to March of last year, if that will do me any favors.[/QUOTE] I haven't had much improvement in this situation, but I'm getting lots of documents together to put together a court case against this guy. Proof that rent checks have been in my name, proof of bad checks he's written me, correspondence between us about his various debts, etc. From what I've been reading about small claims court, generally the only ways to get money from somebody in a situation like this are 1) if they just HAVE the money in their account and aren't paying you, which I doubt, 2) if they have real estate that can be seized, which I also doubt (and most other property is ineligible), or 3) if they have a job and are consistently receiving paychecks from it, which IS happening. So, because of that, and since my case seems pretty easy to prove (I'm not sure he'll even try to deny any of it) I should be able to receive a portion of his paycheck every week until his debt to me is paid off.

[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;53077142]i don't know how the welfare works where you live but in australia you get a student allowance based on the number of units you are doing (minimum of 30 units per week, average course is 10 units). the allowance isn't based on the workload but you need at least 30 units to qualify. however i would at least call in and see if you can still get welfare considering you are doing 40 hours of essentially volunteer work. that should qualify you for some sort of student or job seeker allowance.[/QUOTE] We get university points for different parts of the course. There is 30 in one semester. You have to get 80% of the total points you have studied (90 in my case) to keep your welfare. The problem was that they don't report the points until you pass the entire course. So I had 25.5 points in the last semester that didn't count because I failed the last exam for 4.5 points. It's a dumb system but at the same time I think you are very well of in Sweden since the education itself doesn't cost anything if you are a citizen. I'm in the clear for now though. Miraculously managed to pass the other exam I thought I would fail so I will get my welfare back this month. I will never slack again!

[QUOTE=maeZtro;53096815]We get university points for different parts of the course. There is 30 in one semester. You have to get 80% of the total points you have studied (90 in my case) to keep your welfare. The problem was that they don't report the points until you pass the entire course. So I had 25.5 points in the last semester that didn't count because I failed the last exam for 4.5 points. It's a dumb system but at the same time I think you are very well of in Sweden since the education itself doesn't cost anything if you are a citizen. I'm in the clear for now though. Miraculously managed to pass the other exam I thought I would fail so I will get my welfare back this month. I will never slack again![/QUOTE] yeah that's really dumb, university students are under a lot of stress and often afflicted with anxiety and that doesn't sound like a stress or anxiety reducing system. just compounds the stress. glad to hear it worked out, hope you'll be alright until then.